Mille Miglia 2012: Italy's biggest street party

May 20, 2012

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La Mille Miglia, or the “1,000 Miles” is one of Italy's most famous road rallies. Held from 1927 to 1957 in 24 editions before the event was forced to stop because of the dangers of high-speed driving on public roads, the Mille was a flat-out race starting in the north in Brescia heading down to Rome and back. In its second-to-last year,Sir Stirling Moss even managed to achieve victory in a staggering 10 hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds with an average speed of 98.53 mph.

Needless to say that record didn't get beaten in the last two editions. Fifty years have passed since the Automobile Club de Brescia held the first Retrospective to honor this legendary race, and since then it has grown into a yearly celebration that captures the hearts of classic car enthusiasts as “La Corsa più bella del Monde,” or, the most beautiful race in the world.

For the most part, participants take the same route as the original Mille Miglia, but organizers tend to change a couple of segments each year. Certain cities are always guaranteed to be on the schedule as their link with the original is too strong not to be part of the event. And who would want to skip some of the most beautiful, historic town centers that Italy has to offer, such as Verona, Vicenza, Padova, San Marino, Viterbo and Siena?

As for the cars, only period-correct cars are allowed to enter. Of the 1,600 applicants, only 385 cars are allowed to drive over the starting ramp in Brescia. The selection is based on the actual cars or the same type that ran back in the day. The variety of cars is staggering, ranging from blue-chip collector cars such as Alfa Romeo 6Cs and 8Cs, Mercedes-Benz SSKs and Ferraris, to Etceterinis such as Ermini, Bandini, Abarth, Cisitalia. You will even find some pedestrian Volkswagen Beetles or a Fiat 500 among the mix.

No less then 58 cars on the grid took part in the event when they where new. Because of its popularity, the event draws star participants. Moss was at the start to show off his 1952 Jaguar C-Type that he drove here that year, together with his original co-pilot Norman Dewis, who was wearing his original outfit. This C-Type represented the first time that disc brakes were used at an international competitive event. Yet the men were only there as ambassadors for Jaguar, just as Jacky Ickx was with Chopard.

Of course, nowadays the Mille Miglia isn't considered a race anymore; it's more of a long rally spread out over two and a half days. The pace is set by your own choosing, but some tend to drive a bit “faster” then others—depending on how congested traffic is and how much the police escorts tend to tell you to keep up with them. With an estimated 4 million people lined up along the roads and in every town center it is an overwhelming sight wherever you pass. With this much attention it is almost impossible to drive wrong. At every corner there are enough people watching to tell you which way to go. Even without them there are enough red arrows—the Mille Miglia logo—to help you go in the right direction. It doesn't matter where you pass, how early or how late, there will always be a line of people cheering you on. Even if you drive into a small town at 1 a.m., the piazza is filled with onlookers waiting until the very last car has passed.

And it's not only the Italians who show up. Seeing the number of other classic cars and sports cars that follow the rally—partially or fully—or just parked beside the road with plates from all over Europe offers an idea on how well-loved this classic rally is.

The fun of the Mille Miglia isn't the crowded madness in Brescia—it's on the road following the cars, seeing them driving on some of the most beautiful Italian roads, visiting historic cities and reliving, for a short period of time, one of the great motoring events.

So as they would say in Italy, “Prepari seguire la Freccia Rossa.” Prepare to follow the Red Arrow.